He was wheelchair bound, and so he was unclean. His body was not whole, so he was not qualified to minister.

That’s what Lemmy’s church told him in Zambia.

Lemmy had been wheelchair bound for many years, but that hadn’t stopped him. He had become a youth pastor in a local village church in Western Zambia…until the pastor told him that he could no longer minister because he had been cursed by God and was unclean due to his paralysis.

Lemmy went into depression. He left the church. He left his community. He stopped preaching. And he was angry at God.

But God did not forget Lemmy. By His grace, several Live School students in Mwande met Lemmy while on outreach. They encouraged him to come and attend the Live School classes with them.

Lemmy agreed and went through the whole of the Live School curriculum, learning about discipleship, theology, leadership, evangelism, perseverance in ministry and much more.

By the time of graduation, Lemmy was a new man. He realized that his physical state had nothing to do with his spiritual state. He learned that because God had given him the message of the gospel, he was commanded to preach it despite all obstacles. Lemmy was rejuvenated to continue ministry, and this time he was equipped with the tools and resources to do it even better than before.

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If you ever venture into the villages of Western Zambia, you’ll probably meet Lemmy. Every day he goes house-to-house preaching the gospel and ministering to those in need.

There are only a handful of paved roads in his area, but you’ll see Lemmy’s arms pump up and down as he plows through the sand to get to each household. And he does so with great joy.

Lemmy’s wheel tracks in the sand are a testament to the goodness of the gospel. Nothing can stop Lemmy from sharing it with those who are lost…not even some irksome sand.

And Lemmy’s life displays the gospel. What the world calls broken or cursed, God calls strong and worthy. He takes weak vessels like you and me and calls us to be his royal ambassadors, taking his message of Life to those who are living in death.

Let us not allow rejection, or brokenness, or some sand to get in the way of us displaying the gospel to those around us. Let the rejection from the world be in stark contrast to the acceptance of our Heavenly Father. Let our brokenness be a testament to the strength of our King. Let the obstacles to ministry push us towards Jesus, our mountain-mover and mighty warrior.

Keep going. Keep plowing through the sand. Salvation is at hand.

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Through the students of the Live School, which Lemmy attended, seven churches have already been planted in the villages of Western Zambia.